SOU president Mary Cullinan finalist for Youngstown job

Southern Oregon University President Mary Cullinan announced Monday afternoon that she is one of three finalists for presidency at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio.

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Posted Apr. 29, 2014 at 10:25 AM
Updated Apr 29, 2014 at 2:06 PM

Posted Apr. 29, 2014 at 10:25 AM
Updated Apr 29, 2014 at 2:06 PM

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Southern Oregon University President Mary Cullinan announced Monday afternoon that she is one of three finalists for presidency at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio.

Cullinan made the announcement through a campuswide email and said that she had not been actively seeking the job.

"This came about quite suddenly," Cullinan wrote in the email. "I was nominated for the position; the search consultant asked if I would be available to interview via Skype this past Saturday. That afternoon, the consultant invited me to visit the campus next week."

Cullinan will visit the campus on May 7.

The other two finalists for the position are Jim Tressel, former Youngstown State University's football coach, and Gary Miller, chancellor of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.

Cullinan's email told students and staff that she was looking forward to finding out more about the position at Youngstown.

"I look forward to exploring this professional opportunity and learning more about the university and position," she said. "I will keep you apprised as I learn more about the YSU position in the next couple of weeks."

Youngstown State University is looking for a new president after Randy Dunn, its president for just seven months, told university officials in February his plan to take a position at another university, leaving YSU at the end of March.

Cullinan's announcement comes just after the unveiling of a final retrenchment plan last month. The plan cuts 80 positions through layoffs and retirements over the next five years.

It also comes less than two months after more than two-thirds of faculty members voted that they were not confident in the leadership of Provost Jim Klein and Vice President of Finance and Administration Craig Morris. Sixty-three percent said they also had no confidence in Cullinan. ( No-confidence votes have been corrected from earlier version.)

In her email, Cullinan said regardless of her announcement that SOU is still important to her.

"Please know that I care deeply about SOU and am very proud of all the university does for students," she said.